Nationality American Known for Diamond Foods | Occupation Business Executive | |
Alma mater University of California, Santa Barbara | ||
Steven M. Neil is a business executive best known for being the CAO, EVP, and CFO at Diamond Foods from March 2008 to 2012. He was also the Director of Diamond Walnut Growers. Before joining Diamond Foods, Neil held executive positions at several specialty healthcare manufacturing companies including Perrigo Company, the Cooper Companies, Ocular Sciences Inc., and Sola International.
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Neil is a CPA in California and received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Career
Neil spent seven years with the accounting firm Arthur Andersen and held several successive finance positions with the Applied Magnetics Corporation. He worked at AMC from 1983 to 1996, eventually serving as the company’s Controller and Chief Accounting Officer.
In 1993, he joined Perrigo Company and served as Vice President, Finance, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer from May 1995 to September 1997. He also functioned as its Vice President and Controller from January 1993 to May 1995. In July 1996, he was named President of Perrigo International Inc.
Neil was EVP, CFO, Principal Accounting Officer, and Secretary of Ocular Sciences Inc. from July 2003 to January 2005. He held jobs as VP of Finance, CFO, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer, and Secretary of Sola International from October 1997 to June 2003.
Controversy at Diamond Foods
In early 2011, Diamond Foods was in talks with Procter & Gamble to acquire Pringles. Business consultancies watching the deal, including Bevmark and Off Wall Street Consulting, raised concerns over Diamond Foods’ accounting and noted discrepancies with the company’s annual earnings report for 2010 and 2011.
Diamond had paid $60 million to its walnut growers in Sept. 2011 which the growers understood as compensation due to them because they were underpaid in 2010. Shortly after, the SEC launched an investigation. After audits, Diamond Foods disclosed it had improperly accounted for two payments to walnut growers— one for $60 million in Sept. 2011 and $20 million in Aug. 2010.
In Feb. 2012, Neil and CEO Michael Mendes were placed on administrative leave. Both formally left the company later in the year. The Pringles acquisition fell through. No direct evidence ever linked Neil to the accounting problems.